Shuffling in towering player after towering player, the Panthers never missed a beat as they wore down the gritty Comets, 61-50, on Friday night in the PIAA Class AAA boys basketball quarterfinals at William Allen High School.

"I am so proud of each and every one of my teammates," said Abington Heights senior guard Kevin Elwell, who had nine points and three assists. "We battled to the end. We really gave them a run for their money and had them on the ropes for a while.

"It didn't work out, but we are happy that we got to this point."

Abington Heights (27-3) played with conviction, determination and poise for 24 minutes. The Comets withstood early flurries and at times broke free from an intense defense that cluttered passing lanes with long arms and quickness. They even stymied their imposing opponent by building an early advantage with sharp execution and soft shooting.

Imhotep Charter (26-5), which has six players who are at least 6-foot-6 and goes nine players deep, frustrated the Comets throughout the game, forcing them to exert a lot of energy simply to get the ball across half court.

No player could equal the talent of Brandon Austin, who is headed to Providence University. The 6-7 guard made the going tough on Abington Heights junior leader J.C. Show at the offensive end, and put on a late shooting display.

"Brandon's job on Show was unbelievable," Imhotep Charter coach Andre Noble said of Austin, who finished with 18 points and four steals. "He fought through screens. He's been nursing a bad knee. He just manned up today and we were trying to be physical. The one time when we had him out and Abington Heights went on a run, he tapped me on the shoulder and said, 'I'm going back in' and I said, yeah, that's OK."

Driven by a passionate fan base that packed the stands, Abington Heights shot out quickly.

Jason Bamford, who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, and Elwell each scored four points and T.J. Murray had three assists as the Comets made 6 of their first 13 shots in building a 12-7 advantage.

"We had the fans on our side and that helped so much early," Murray said.

In the second, the Comets got out in transition and that allowed Show to get some space.

He knocked down a pair of 3-pointers on fast breaks as the Comets built a 29-22 lead with two minutes left in the first half.

"(Austin's) length really bothered me all game," said Show, who scored 11 points, but made only 4 of 15 shots. "Those baskets gave us some momentum and a lead. They really did a great job of making us work for anything that we got in the game."

But Imhotep, the second-ranked team in the state according to Pennlive.com, charged to within 29-26 on baskets by 6-foot-6 guard Carnell Holiday and an offensive rebound by 6-6 junior Basil Thompson.

Still, Abington Heights played on emotion.

Show got things started with a 3-pointer in the third, and as Imhotep scored the next six points, the Comets kept responding.

Imhotep took its first lead, 35-34, on a 3-pointer by Jalil Myers, and from there went toe-to-toe with Abington Heights.

Evan Maxwell, the Comets' 6-9 junior center, came off the bench and hit a short hook shot and Elwell had three free throws that gave Abington Heights a 43-42 lead.

"I just tried to do whatever I could to help the team out," Maxwell said. "I wanted to have confidence in there."

That's when Imhotep turned up the defensive press. The lanky Panthers altered many passes as Abington Heights had trouble finding an open man.

"They were so long and they took advantage of their steals," Bamford said.

With four turnovers and seven points from Abraham Massaley, Imhotep went on a 10-point attack that swung the game in its favor.

Bamford responded with a two-handed dunk that gave the Comets a shot in the arm.

But Imhotep had too much momentum and thwarted a rally with six straight points, including four from Thompson, who finished with nine.

"We gave our all," said Jamie Egan, one of the four senior two-year starters for the Comets, who reached the state quarterfinals for the second straight season. "It came to an end, but we will move on from here.

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